My wife and I booked a package holiday in Egypt at our local Thomson agency in February. We paid £34 to book flight seats in advance. We always reserve one seat next to the aisle and the middle of the three so we can get up to exercise during the flight without disturbing anyone.

After booking I looked at Thomson's website and discovered that reserving seats in these positions was prohibited. There was no advance indication of this restriction on the website, nor had we been warned when we booked in the branch. Had I booked the holiday online, I would not have gone ahead once I realised I could not reserve the seats I wanted – but I had already paid the local agency. When I asked for my £34 back I was told there would be a £50 administration fee. My complaint is more about the principle than the £34. RD, Maidenhead, Berkshire

It turns out that your £34 does not book you the precise seats you want, it ensures only that you can sit together. Having paid for this you can then for no charge "select a seat" to ask for exactly the seats you want but, if Thomson can't or won't let you have them, there is no refund because it cost nothing. Apparently it is normal practice not to allow passengers to book the middle and aisle seats because, assuming most people did, that would leave lots of single window seats which Thomson can't allocate to the people who have paid to sit together.

Thomson overlooked the whole point of your complaint, which is that the branch did not explain this. It has now agreed to refund the £34 as a gesture of goodwill "for any mis-communication".

You can email Margaret Dibben at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Margaret Dibben, Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include a phone number